SEASON RECAP: Crimson Reclaims Division Crown

For all the success the Harvard softball team had in 2010, there were times in the March preseason slate where it seemed like nothing was going right.

Bats were failing to connect, pitching was occasionally mediocre, and opposing teams were overpowering the Crimson (27-23, 18-5 Ivy), sometimes by five or more runs. Thankfully for the team, this sluggish start to the season disappeared as conference play approached.

“I feel like the weekend we came home after spring break was the turning point in our season,” Harvard coach Jenny Allard said. “I had a good team meeting that focused on some things we needed to make adjustments with. We then played Fairfield and won both games thanks to an outstanding offensive performance.”

The team started to get on the right track after opening the season with a meager 4-14 record. The two wins against nonconference opponent Fairfield sparked a winning streak that extended into conference play, with the Crimson taking the first two games of the Ivy season against Princeton—the first on the strength of sophomore Rachel Brown’s first career no-hitter.

But the next day, defending Ancient Eight champion Cornell quieted a Harvard offense that was finally coming together. After dropping the first contest, 8-4, the Crimson responded with a 7-6 win, splitting the series. What followed was a dominant sweep of Holy Cross and a commanding first game against Penn that Harvard won, 10-0, in early April. But the Quakers came back to narrowly escape the Crimson, 5-4, in the twinbill’s nightcap.

As the season progressed, Harvard took three of four against Brown and swept Yale by outscoring the Bulldogs, 27-7.

Heading into a home-and-away set with Dartmouth—a series that would determine who would finish at the top of the Ivy League North Division and earn a spot in the Ivy League Championship Series—the Crimson held a two-game lead over its division rival as it opened the series on May 1.

“I think in the morning, we were just really excited to be able to have this opportunity to clinch at home,” Brown said. “We were really energized, and from last year we knew that if we let down at all, they were going to take advantage of that.”

A lot was on the line, and Harvard stepped up to the challenge. The Crimson swept the Big Green not only at home to clinch its spot in the ILCS, but also in Hanover, N.H. the next day.

“Dartmouth is always a really tough opponent,” Brown said. “It was a really beautiful day, lots of fans came out, and it was awesome.”

After such a dominant display against the Big Green, Harvard was pitted against Cornell in the ILCS on May 7-8. The Big Red won the first game, 3-1, and seemed poised to take the second game as well, taking a 2-1 lead in the top of the eighth.

But in the bottom of the inning, with two batters already put away, Crimson sophomore Mari Zumbro sparked a rally with a single. Senior Jessica Pledger got on base as well, setting the stage for classmate Jennifer Francis.

With one swing, Francis pushed the series to a rubber match, blasting a three-run walk-off homer that gave Harvard a 4-2 win.

“Jennifer Francis’s clutch hit in the bottom of the eighth with two outs to extend our season, I think, was a great memory for everybody,” Allard said. “It was one of those wonderful moments in athletics and in competition that you just will savor.”

A third game on May 8 decided the ultimate victor, and Cornell defeated the Crimson by only a run, 3-2.

It also marked the end of a legacy left behind by six seniors: co-captains Margaux Black and Melissa Schellberg, who is also a Crimson sports editor, Stephanie Krysiak, Dana Roberts, Pledger, and Francis.

“Clearly, they were such a crucial class,” Brown said. “Even from freshman year, they were basically all starting. We’re going to have big shoes to fill. That’s really going to make everyone step up their games and compete for their spots.”

Harvard wrapped up the year by garnering a league-high nine All-Ivy nods, including three to the first team: Brown and sophomore first baseman Whitney Shaw, who were both unanimous selections, and junior second baseman Ellen Macadam.

After overcoming a slow start to the season and with a strong incoming class of freshmen, it seems like anything is possible for Crimson softball next year.

“We’ve got a lot of tenacity and fight,” Allard said. “I think we struggled a lot in the preseason this year, and it really forced us to learn how to be strong and get through tough situations.”

—Staff writer Brian A. Campos can be reached at bcampos@fas.harvard.edu.